Locking means fob chains



.l. P. MENTZER.

LOCKING MEANS FOR CHAINS APPLICATION FILED IAN.16. 1919.

1N VEN To R J OI-IN P. MENTZER, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LOCKING MEANS FOR CHAINS.

Lenawee.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dee. 2, 191e.

Application filed January 16, 1919. SeriaIlNo. 271,355.

p. useful Improvement in Locking Meansfor y Chains, of which the following is a full,

clear, concise, and exact description, reference being Vhad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention rrelates to chains, and par- Y ticularly torcliains for automobile tires.

'I he principal object of the invention is to arrange for the locking of the ends of a chain together in such a manner that such ends may be separated when desired, but will not become separated accidentally.

A more special vobject of the invention is to arrange for the holding of an automobile tire chain detachably in position upon the wheel and to lock the same so that itwill not be accidentally disconnected so yas 'to come olf the wheel, but at the same time to permit it to be readily undone and easily removed. y v r Y A further Vobject of the invention is to construct this fastening or-locking device so that it will be inexpensive and practical.

and may be readily applied andtaken olf.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevationcof the upper part'ofy an automobile wheel and tire thereof, together with va chain having a locking .or fastening device embodying my invention;

Fig. 21s aplan view of a portion of the chain and said locking or fastening device;

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on line 3 3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the chain showninv Fig. 2; c

Fig. 5s a perspective view of one ofthe elements of the device.

Referring to theY drawings, I'show spokes Y' l-Vl of what may be understood to be ank ordinary wheel of an automobile; On this is mounted a pneumatic tire 2. v A chain is arranged on the tire, said vchain having a side or rimchain 3 and a series, of cross chains 4. The side or rimchain 3 is made with its ends detacliably connected together by means of a suitable fastening or securing device permitting the connection of the ends 3a and '3b of the chain to hold the com-v plete chain upon the tire, and also permitting said ends to be disconnected so as to part vof the allow the removal of the chain from the tire.

' The device for connecting the ends 8a and,

3b of the rim chain 3 is shown more fully vin Figs. 2, 3 and 4. l Thisconsists of a body member 5 having two recesses 6 and 7 forming hooks or prongs S andv 9. lIt also involves a sheath l0 adapted to vtit over thev lower or hooked portion of the member 5 and having a prong 1l fitting substantiallyv over the hook 9. The member 5 and 'sheath 10 Vare held together by a pivot 12 which also permits the sheath 10l to swing. with reference to the member 5 and so substantiallyl cover and uncover the hooks 8 and 9. A link 3aM of the chain 8 is shown engaging the hook 9 and the sheath 10 when in a closedposition, as shown in Fig. 4, practically closes the space or recess 6 and thereby holdssaid link 3Jt in engagement with the hook-8.` In'this way Ythe chain is detachably heldin position, the ends being engagediby the. connectionor link arrangement 5 and being separated to permit the removal of the chain by swinging the sheath 10 down so as to release the chain link 3"," and allow they latter to vbe disengaged from the hook S, whereby l the ends ofi-the chain will be separated 'and the chain removed. In actual' practice there is the objection to this arrangement that thevsheath l0 orlocking member, by the jarring of the vehicle wheel, become displaced so as topermit'the link S-Prto be disengaged from the hook 8,. If this occurs asit may be called, mayV the endsfof the chain Sfbecoine sepf/.tratedk n and the separated ends-.may ,do considerable damage by'stri-king against parts ost'v the automobile. v Itis evenpossible that the chain-'may become displaced from the tire `and work entirely off froml the wheel, dropping in the road with the consequent loss of an entire chain to the lowner of the automo-l portion, bent to form ay loopv 15. This wire strand is applied to the chain connection by inserting the loop l5 through the end por# .portion of its length, preferably its middle llO tion 'of the recess 7, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4;. The end portions of the wire are then wrapped around the members 5 and 10 and passed throughv the loop 15, as best shown in hig. 3. 'i ne wire strand thereby becomes a binding or lockingdevice to hold the two i s other side of the wheel, the chain maybe easily removed. When it is desired to again lock the chain position either the sameV or another 'wire strand with loop 15 can be used and easily and quickly put into place.

' These'wire binders may be made of wire i would be provided with a number which is not particularly stil, but may bev 5 bent easily by the fingers so as to allow the ends 'to be readily bent and inserted through the Vend oi' the loop 15.V Each automobilist of these wire binding devices so that Vhe could use them on his chain and if one became broken or ifit was desired to remove and replace the Y chain, the binderV vfor the same could be thrown awa'yand'a-new one used.

. .Thus it will 'be seen that at a very insiglto Vnificant expense and avery small amountv of etort, an automobile chain may be locked safelyV in, position It' vwill be understood that'changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. i

i What I claim is:

' 1. The combination withachain, of a con-v nection for the ends ot the same vcomprising a hooked member having a hook engaging one end of the chain and a locking member orvtemporarily locking the chain end in' position on said hook, and means for holding said locking member in lockingy position, said locking means consisting of a binding member having a portion of itsV length passed through the yconnection and other portions of its lengthvw'rapped' around the vsame and engaged with said passing through Y portion. v l.

2; The combination with a chain, of a conf nection for the ends of the same comprising ahooked member havinga hook engaging oneend of the chainand a locking meniber for temporarily locking the chain end in position on said hook, and means for hold-l ing said locking member in locking position,

and prevented from be'- coming undone and slipping off Vfrom the',l \wheel.

said locking means consisting of abinding device having a portion of itslength formed into a loop which-projects through the connection, and another portion oi its length woundaroiind said connection and engaged with said loop. Y i

3.- The combination with a chain, of acon-` nection forv the ends of the samecoinprising a Vhooked member having afhook engaging s one end of the chainand a locking member` for temporarily lookin c' the chain end in position yon said hook, and means for holding said locking member in locking position, said binding means consisting ofa wire strand Yhaving a portion of its length formed intoa loop Vand projected through the connection and having otherportions of its ,length on each side of saidloop portion wrapped'abontl said connection and inserted into the pro- ]ecting endofsaid loop. Y

f 4. The combinationoi' a Chaim-Vanda con- I nection for the ends oic the same,"said connection comprising amember provided with a hook which is engaged by a-lii'ik'at one end of the chain, and a sheath adapted to vlit over one side portion of said hookedV member and to cover the end portion ot sait hook 'sof as to retain said link in position thereon, and a binding device consisting oiV a' wire strand having its middle portion bent Ato form a'loop which is inserted through said connection, the portions of the 'wire Vstrand on opposite sides of the loop being wrapped around the hooked member `andY sheath and theii1 endsV being Vpassed through the projecting end portion of the loop.

5. rlhe combination of a hooked member and 1a locking device for closingthe hook, of means for holding the locking device in locking position,y said means comprising a wire strand Vwrapped'aroiindsaid member and locking device and liavingfit'sends tem porarily locked together.

6.V Thel combination of a hooked member,

a sheath for covering the hook of said niember, and a wire strand wrapped around saidV member-and sheath for holding same'against separation, said wire strand havingv `a1 portion of its vlength passed through said hooked member andfsheathand another portion of its length wrapped around the same and erigaged with said passing'thr'ough portion( I Y 7; VThe combination of a'hooked'member7` a sheath Vfor covering the hook of said niember, and a wireV strandrwrapped around said,` member and sheatlii'orholding same againstseparation, said with the ends of saidA strand.

In witness whereof 'Il hereunto subscribevv my name this 11th day of January, A. D, i919. f Y

JOHN P. Mnnfrznn Y strand jhaving a -loop pro-vr iecting through said member Vand engaged, 

